The role of nasal secretions in allergic disease of the nose.

Findings in recent years have stressed the importance of research on the target organ in IgE-mediated allergies of the respiratory tract. In this review we have focussed on the nasal secretions (NS) as a contract medium between allergens and the respiratory mucosa. Our findings have demonstrated that NS show different allergen extraction activities in relation to different conditions. Whereas NS of allergic and inflamed noses extracted allergens very rapidly, NS of normal noses showed no extraction activity. Furthermore, it could be demonstrated that the IgE specificities in NS are comparable with those in the serum of individual patients not indicating a local IgE synthesis. The presence and function of basophilic cells and eosinophils and their mediators are discussed in the light of recent studies.